Professor Hansong Ma PhD

Professor Hansong Ma

School of Biosciences
Professor in Genetics

Hansong is a leading expert in mitochondrial genetics. Her group developed tools and systems in Drosophila to study mitochondrial DNA transmission and maintenance.

https://www.themalab.co.uk/

Biography

Hansong studied the host-pathogen interaction for her DPhil at the University of Birmingham under the supervision of Prof Robin May. She then joined Prof Patrick O’Farrell’s laboratory as a Human Frontier postdoctoral fellow at the University of California San Francisco to explore mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) transmission in Drosophila. In 2017, she started her group as Wellcome Sir Henry Dale Fellow at the Gurdon Institute, University of Cambridge. She moved her lab to Birmingham in 2023.

Postgraduate supervision

The lab is recruiting PhD students.

We have a PhD studentship available. Please apply before the 31st May 2023!

https://www.findaphd.com/phds/project/probe-mechanisms-underlying-the-maternal-inheritance-of-mitochondrial-dna-in-drosophila/?p156141

Other activities

Mitochondrial DNA transmission, inheritance and repair, Mitochondrial dynamics, mito-nuclear coevolution

Publications

Recent publications

Article

Chiang, C-Y, Jezek, J, Mu, P, Di, Y, Klucnika, A, Jaburek, M, Jezek, P & Ma, H 2024, 'Two mitochondrial DNA polymorphisms modulate cardiolipin binding and lead to synthetic lethality', Nature Communications, vol. 15, no. 1, 611. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-44964-2

YZ Li, A, Di, Y, Rathore, S, Chiang, C-Y, Jezek, J & Ma, H 2023, 'Milton assembles large mitochondrial clusters, mitoballs, to sustain spermatogenesis', Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, vol. 120, no. 34, e2306073120. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2306073120

Klucnika, A, Mu, P, Jezek, J, McCormack, M, Di, Y, Bradshaw, CR & Ma, H 2023, 'REC drives recombination to repair double-strand breaks in animal mtDNA', Journal of Cell Biology, vol. 222, no. 1, e202201137. https://doi.org/10.1083/jcb.202201137

Klucnika, A & Ma, H 2020, 'Mapping and editing animal mitochondrial genomes: can we overcome the challenges?', Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2019.0187

van den Ameele, J, YZ Li, A, Ma, H & Chinnery, P 2020, 'Mitochondrial heteroplasmy beyond the oocyte bottleneck', Seminars in Cell and Developmental Biology. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.semcdb.2019.10.001

Klucnika, A & Ma, H 2019, 'A battle for transmission: the cooperative and selfish animal mitochondrial genomes', Open Biology. https://doi.org/10.1098/rsob.180267

Chiang, AC-Y, McCartney, E, O'Farrell, PH & Ma, H 2019, 'A Genome-wide Screen Reveals that Reducing Mitochondrial DNA Polymerase Can Promote Elimination of Deleterious Mitochondrial Mutations', Current Biology. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2019.10.060

Ma, H & O'Farrell, PH 2016, 'Selfish drive can trump function when animal mitochondrial genomes compete', Nature Genetics. https://doi.org/10.1038/ng.3587

Ma, H & O'Farrell, PH 2015, 'Selections that isolate recombinant mitochondrial genomes in animals', eLife. https://doi.org/papers3://publication/doi/10.7554/eLife.07247

Ma, H, Xu, H & O'Farrell, PH 2014, 'Transmission of mitochondrial mutations and action of purifying selection in Drosophila melanogaster', Nature Genetics. https://doi.org/10.1038/ng.2919

Hagen, F, Ceresini, PC, Polacheck, I, Ma, H, van Nieuwerburgh, F, Gabaldon, T, Kagan, S, Pursall, ER, Hoogveld, HL, van Iersel, LJJ, Klau, GW, Kelk, SM, Stougie, L, Bartlett, KH, Voelz, K, Pryszcz, LP, Castaneda, E, Lazera, M, Meyer, W, Deforce, D, Meis, JF, May, RC, Klaassen, CHW & Boekhout, T 2013, 'Ancient Dispersal of the Human Fungal Pathogen Cryptococcus gattii from the Amazon Rainforest', PLOS One, vol. 8, no. 8, pp. e71148. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0071148, https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0071148

Voelz, K, Ma, H, Phadke, S, Byrnes, EJ, Zhu, P, Mueller, O, Farrer, RA, Henk, DA, Lewit, Y, Hsueh, Y, Fisher, MC, Idnurm, A, Heitman, J & May, RC 2013, 'Transmission of Hypervirulence Traits via Sexual Reproduction within and between Lineages of the Human Fungal Pathogen Cryptococcus gattii', PLoS Genetics, vol. 9, no. 9, e1003771. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pgen.1003771, https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pgen.1003771

Byrnes, EJ, Li, W, Lewit, Y, Ma, H, Voelz, K, Ren, P, Carter, DA, Chaturvedi, V, Bildfell, RJ, May, R & Heitman, J 2010, 'Emergence and Pathogenicity of Highly Virulent Cryptococcus gattii Genotypes in the Northwest United States', PLoS pathogens, vol. 6, no. 4, pp. e1000850. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.ppat.1000850

Ma, H & May, RC 2010, 'Mitochondria and the regulation of hypervirulence in the fatal fungal outbreak on Vancouver Island', Virulence, vol. 1, no. 3, pp. 197-201. https://doi.org/10.4161/viru.1.3.11053

Ma, H, Hagen, F, Stekel, DJ, Johnston, SA, Sionov, E, Falk, R, Polacheck, I, Boekhout, T & May, RC 2009, 'The fatal fungal outbreak on Vancouver Island is characterized by enhanced intracellular parasitism driven by mitochondrial regulation', National Academy of Sciences. Proceedings, vol. 106, no. 31, pp. 12980-12985. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0902963106

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